Working poverty going up in Metro Vancouver: study

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is recommending B.C. adopt a comprehensive poverty reduction plan.

A new report shows that, contrary to stereotypes about poverty being concentrated mainly in Vancouver and Surrey, the growing ranks of the working poor are spread out across the Metro Vancouver region.

The study looks at working poverty pre- and post-recession, in 2006 and 2012.

It found that more than 100,000 Metro Vancouver residents live in poverty despite having a job.

It found 8.7% of the working-age population live below the poverty line.

That’s the second highest in the country behind Toronto.

Study author Iglika Ivanova says the reality is that having a job is not a guaranteed path out of poverty.

“With Vancouver’s exorbitant housing costs means that the lives of the working poor is even worse than these numbers.”

Rates were highest in Richmond at 10.5%, Vancouver at 10%, Burnaby at 9.4% and Surrey at 9.1%.

The report recommends raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, strengthening employment standards, investing in social housing and implementing a $10-a-day childcare plan.